Slug-casting machine



March 11, 1930. E. w. PIERSON 1,750,353

SLUG' CASTING MACHINE Filed Fe 1929 3 Sheets-Sheet l TTORN S March 11,1930. w, PIERSON 1,750,353

SLUG CASTING MACHINE Filed Feb. 7, 1929 SSheets-Sheet 2 BY MTORN March11, 1930. E. w. PIERSON SLUG CASTING MACHINE Filed Feb. 7, 1929 3Sheets-Sheet twm fiwora into, a; so-cztl ledfirst elevatorffliwhichnormal operation of theggmaehine,

Patented Mar. 11, 1930 ZITED QZ'SIF new. JERsEY,.-.ASSIGN B.ronrsemmenmtm ,TYPESQMIPANYM COR RATIQN GENEW YOR SING-CASTING mecfirn-EThis invention relates to slugeasting machines, suoh as linotypemachines ofthflzg'eneral organization represented in U S Letters Patent.to 2 Mergenthaler :No. $36,532, wherein circulating;matrices; are,assembled :in; line together with" expanding; spac rs; =or spacehands,:the composed line lifte -1.11pmtween -.a. pair of: fingers of a deliveryslide and then: transferred thereby horizontally thereupon descends, topresent the; composed line in casting position between, fi- PZllT- Qf,tfice jaws. .Oneof tllGSBgrjilWS (nsuallyotl e- 'lefthand jaw) ;.is:adjustahleirtowan'd and from the opposing or right-:hand' jawtonaccominodate lines-ofdilferent lengths. lnathe the line transferslideis stopped within the firstelevator. yin; indefinite predeterminedposition-so that when the" composed fline is lowered between. the vicejaws, ,the matrixat' theex- :treme: right will be flush or nearly-so=with the clamping face of the right-hand j aw. small space, howe\'er,-u-sually occurs-between theanat-rix at the opposite end .of. the;line and tl'ie.'1eft-hand ;;j aw on account of the slightwaria-tio'ns inlength of: the: lines as ordinarily composed, but this -or. any otherspacein the line is filled-out by the expansion of; the spac'ebandsduring justification. In practice, the ,justificationof the composedlines is usually carried out intW0-=St1geS, i.; e. before and; after theimat-rices are-aligned against theanold, these justifying operationsbeing effected by a. vertically vmovable bar arranged to engage thespaeebands: at their lower ends. ,In the first-stage, the;justificationhar operates in an inclined position with reference to thematrix line, While in the. second stage, it operates in a horizontal.position, so that in effecting the preliminary justiilCilSiOlLOf theline the-hariscaused to engage the spacehands.successively from right toleft as it drives them upwardly. through the line, Whereas in effectingthe final justification-of the line it is caused-to engage thespacehands successively froin left. -to right, since at that time thespacebandsstandes the bar left them after the, preceding operation. The1 prelimir-iary justification thus tends; to. adj net the linetoward,the.- left to fill out anyspaces or'loosenesszit-that end of jthe linewhile; the final justification, in bringing all .of :the: bands .to: acommon level, tendsto-ad-just thei line toward the, right; to fill.outany {looseness ,in thatdi-rection as well as ,.to eqnali-ze thespacin of a the JVOI dS throughout the line. .The nal.,-justifieation,however, takesplacm While the, line-is held by the .first elevator 1under spring tension against; the mold, for face alignment andconsequentl ,,due to the frictional resistance ofiered ,by, t ematrices, this final justifying operation, cannot alwaysv be, .reliedupon .to insur perfectly tight -10ic -up,a pa t cularly. in, the caseof; lines ranging from 30 ,toAQ ems in length. In .oth er Words,v forone 11 85911. or another such .a bnormal loo'seness atthe extremerightoceurring when alineisoye thr wnduring its transfer to the firste1evator,.or the bindingofone or. more ofith'e matrices ,or, spaeebands;.in their. supporting guides slightspaces or, crevic s. a frequentlyleft. in the composed, lines after final justification. ;Th ese.creyiees will, not only resnlt in the casting .ofimperfctjslngs, but ifexaggerated, they are. likely .to' cause front sqnirts1- and lead, toserious ,damage tov the parts. andv danger .to -.the operator.Mereovenihe. .force of the ,final ,justification is often spentagainstoneor two spacebends at .the entremeleftof :the line, causing them(especially .ther,thinner, .ones) to bi elrle or break and,,thusgitzing. rise .to further annoyance, expense andilossoftime-inoperating. thelmachine.

v The present .inyention isdireeted to a new scheme of justificationwhichwillnot only overcome the objections .aboye, noted but which,inaddition wyill prodnce. a .more uniform and ,more'=,nearly. perfectspacing of the .Wordgroupsofthe .line. Briefly stated, it is proposed.to. straightennp the jns'tificationharduring gthe first justifyingstage and immediately after :it. completes its initial thrustinanvinelined position, leaving it free to. operate ,in the regular- Way.during; the second nstifying stage. The justification bar is thus giventwo ldistinet impnlses, in the first jnstifyingstagefine annp'wardmovement while in an inclined position to push the spacebands upwardprogressively from right to left as heretofore, and the other astraightening up motion (a swinging movement of the bar from itsinclined position to a horizontal position while raised) to even upthespacebands at their lower ends by lifting upwardly thereonprogressively from left to right. This second impulse of thejustification bar, taking place as it does in the preliminaryjustification, ismost advantageous, because at that time the matrix lineis not engaged with the mold for alignment. purposes and hence thematrices and spacebands composing the line have practically completefreedom of movement and can for that reason more readily respond to theeX- panding influence of the spacebands as they are driven up throughthe line by the justification bar, first progressively in one directionand then progressively in the opposite direction. As a result, anylooseness in the line at'any point, whether at the extreme right ortheextreme'left-or in between, is taken up by thespacebands withreasonable certainty, thereby avoiding the objectionable crevices orspaces above referredto; and moreover, for the same 'reasons, any,excess space in the composed lineis evenly and uni formlydistributedbetween the different word groups composing (the line.) In effecting thefinal justification of the line, the justification barl abovestated isoperated in 'the usual way, being moved upwardly while in a horizontalposition, but since these spacebands have already (in the preliminaryjustification of theline) been brought into common horizontal alignmentat their lower ends, they are not acted upon successively from left toright as heretofore-but all of them are engaged bythe' bar at the sametime, this final operation thus lending itself to the complete anduniform spacing of the line.

"While various expedients might be resorted to for operating thejustification bar in the manner above described, the present inventionhas been designed so that the standard parts of the commercial machinesmay be -used with an almost trifling change, which is obviously a greatadvantage. The precise manner in which this is accomplished will best beunderstood from the detailed description to follow.

In the accompanying drawings, the invention has been shown merely inpreferred form and by way of example, but obviously many changes andvariations may be made therein and in its mode of operation, which willstill be comprised within its spirit. It should, therefore, beunderstood that the invention is not limited to any specific form orembodiment except in so far as such limitations are specified in theclaims.

Referring to the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a front view of a portion of a linotype machine embodying thepresent improvements, and showing the justifying mechanism as it appearsjust before the preliminary justification of the matrix line iseffected;

Fig. 2 is a skeleton view, showing the justificationbar and partsassociated therewith in the relative positions they occupy when theinitial stroke of the bar is completed;

Fig. 3 is a similar view showing by the full and dotted lines otherpositions of the parts in the course of their operation; and

Fig. 4, is a vertical fore-and-aft section through the vise frame andcam shaft with the justifying mechanism in the position shown in Fig. 2.

Referring to Fig. 1, the matrices X and spacebands Y, after beingcomposed in line in the assembler A, are lifted up between the fingers BB of the delivery slide B, whichtransfers the line horizontally throughthe intermediate channel C to the position indicated by dotted lines,where it is arrested by the engagement of the slide against the fixedstop G first elevator D is in position to receive the 'line, and thendescends to present it at the casting level (as shown by the full linesin Fig. l) in front of the mold E and between 'theclamping jaws F, F thelatter being mounted in a stationary portion G of the machine frame,commonly known as the vise frame. The finger B at the right is rigidlyconnected to the delivery slide proper, but its companion B is usuallyfree thereon so that it may serve, irrespective of variations in thelength of the lines, to keep the matrices at the left from tilting ortoppling over as the line is being transferred.

The left-hand jaw F is adjustable toward and from the relatively fixedright-hand jaw F so as to vary the distance therebet-ween according tothe length of the composed matrix line, and its adjustment is usuallyeffected by means of an annularly grooved rod H arranged behind the jawand which may be set to any given measure as desired. The rod H servesas an abutment for the jaw F and extends horizontally through the endbracket G of the vise frame G in which it is slidably mounted. In orderthat the rod H may sustain the jaw F against the force of justification,it is locked in its adjusted positions to a block K, which is heldresiliently by a spring or detent (not shown) in contact with a verticalreciprocatory wedge bar L supported facewise against the bracket G andoperable periodically during each machine cycle of operation. The bar Lis formed near its lower end with a transverse slot L and at its topwith upper and lower wedge surfaces L L the high points of which areadapted. when the bar L is all of the way up or all of the way down, tolocate the jaw F through the block K in its proper position. When,

At the time ofsuch transfer, the

away'from the jaw F- for reasons later to appear.

The operationof thewedgebarL is efiect-- ed'in onedirection by a pullspring'L anchored to tliebracket G and in the opposite direct-ion b'ya-fore and-aft' rocking leve'r M; forkedat the front-and fulcrumedat'the rear on a horizontal shaft N located below the=cam shaft 0. Onemember of the forked end of the lever M isconnected to the Wedge bar Lby-a cross pin 'm arranged in :the slot L and the-other member m of saidforked end is located directly below a collar P secured to one of a pairof vertical slide rods P P These-rodsare mounted in the vise frame G andcarry at their upper ends the justification b'ar- P 'to" which theyare-piv+ otally connected: The-rod P (see Fig. l) is supportedagainsttheaction of' gravitylby a second fore-and-aft lever A also-=fulcrnmed onthe shaft N- and 'whose' freeend engages-a collar-P -secured to saidrod. The rod P on-th'e other hand,- is supported by the rod P through aconnecting lin'k or strut- P which extends obliquely upward from thecollar P and-looselyengagesapinp secured to the justification bar PThepur-pose-ofthis :=loose -connectionbetween the --bar and strut istozallow aslight movement of the rod P 'relativelyto the rod P and thusto permitthe justification bar to be moved from'an in clined: positionto a-horizontalposition, or vice VGISZL- Normally; the-justification barP is supported by the strutP and rod P iniits inclined positionas showninFigtl and will therefore remain inthis position when raised-by thelever M to-perform the prelim inary justification of the line. The leverM- is also capable of movingthe justification bar through-the collar Pand-rod P but acts only during the second or final ustifyingperiod,

at which time-both levers 1/1 and 181 act together to lift the bar in ahorizontal position against the spacebands.

The levers M, M are actuated by powerful compression springs M M seatedin the base frame beneath the lovers and individually controlled by acorresponding pair of cams 0 formed generally with relatively lowportions 0 O intervening high portions O and extended concentricportions 0. These cams (see Fig, a) are keyed to the main shaft 0and-sustain the levers, through the medium of anti-friction rollers M, Magainst the tension of their actuating springs. \Vith this arrangement,and during each rotation of the shaft O,'the rollers M, M under theinfluence of the springs M M are caused to follow the contour of therespective cams O 0 and allow the levers M, M to be raised and loweredin definite synchronism for 'the operation of--the justifitiation bhr Bain-two distinct stagesn The bar -'-in='the' first stage' of its-op'erati0n-'is mov'ed while -inan in'cli'ned position towardandfiomjthe matrix line by the action' ofthe s ringM under the controh ofthe oam O and in the 'secondstage; -it is moved through the-same path-While in a horizontal position-'bythe ac-tion of both springs M -M?under the-joint control of the two cams O Q The -ditfere'nt steps -inthejustificat-ion ofa matrixli'ne as ordinarily-effected in thecommercial 'linoty'pe machines take -place in the following orderorsequence: Assume a-composed-line of- I'natrices-and 'spacebands tohav'e reached the dotted li'ne'p'osition shown irrFigs 1; where ithasbeen=stopped bythe engagementof the delivery slide B against the fixedstop C 3 If the =lin'e is --u1-1," the lower end of the deliveryslide-finger B will have =en tered the -'recess 7 in 'the' top ofth'eleft-handjaW (as indicated), but if it is short? the finger will stand'a corresponding-distance to the right ot' su'ch iposition, so thatwhen. the line; at the start of the cycle, is lowered between the :vise:j aw's, the space-will occur ad j acent theclamping-iace of the lefthand jaw F the fingeralways standing in perfect alignment 'with"th'eright hand j aw As soon as the dime is::positio'nedbetweenl the j aws gthemoldi iE? is -advanced=: against the same preparatory to justificationand the roller M -ot the formand aft lever M is about toengage the'low section-O of the cam 0 whichas the cycle proceeds permitssaid lever to rise high 'enouglr'to free the wedgebar L so that it maybe-'dra-wnupwardly by. its actuating spring-L to-theposition showninFig. 2. At this time, the lever Mxstops" short ofthecollarPg'therebe-ing 'sufiicient space allowed for such-lost motion betweensaid collarand the member m '(see Fig.1). The low section 0 of the camtO'is then brought to bear-upon. the roller M which: allows thejustification bar to be'lift'ed-by the other lever M into engagementwiththe spacebands Y to effect the preliminary-justification ofthe line. Bythis action and due to the inclination-of the bar,- there is a tendencyto adjust the-line to the left and any space occurring adjacentthejawFis closed up by the expansion'of the spacebands. By acontinued-rotation of the cams 0 0 both levers 1V1, M are loweredto thedotted line position indicated in Fig. 3, and the reduced portion of thewedge bar- L is brought opposite'or behind the block K, whichthus'a-llows the clamping action of the-jaws to be temporarily relievedand leaves the line free to be pulled bodily upward by the elevator D'against the lip of the mold in effecting the horizontal alignment of thematrix characters with the mold slot. This aligning operation iscommonly referred to as face alignment and prepares the line for thefinal justification, which immediately follows. The lever M, afterallowing the wedge bar 5 to rise again to its former position, is nowadapted to engage the collar P and straighten up the justification bar,which, while disposed in such horizontal position and as permitted bythe low sections O" of the two rotary cams, is forced upwardly againstthe spacebands by the action of both levers M, M under the propellinginfluence of the springs M M After the casting operation, thejustification bar P and wedge bar L are returned to their normalposition (Fig. 1), and the composedline is lifted by the elevator D fromits position be tween .the jaws for separation and distribution of thematrices and spacebands.

, The foregoing parts, their construction and mode of operation, exceptas hereinafter pointed out, are or may be the same as those embodied inthe commercial lintotype machine and in themselves constitute no part ofthe present invention, which is devoted essentially to certainimprovements whereby the justification bar during the first stage of itsoperation is shifted from its inclined position to a horizontal positionparallel with the matrix line in effecting the preliminary justificationthereof. This is accomplished, in the present instance, simply byforming the cam O with a recess 0 located in the low portion 0 thereof,and by positioning the collar P on the vertical rod P about one inchlower than heretofore. The latter change enables the fork member m ofthe lever L1 to engage the collar P and raise the corresponding end ofthe justification bar P after the bar has been lifted by the lever M andwhile the spring M is still capable of exercising its greatest power;

its a result of these changes, simple as they are, after thejustification bar has been raised during the first stage of itsoperation to the position shown in Figs. 2 and 4 in the manner beforedescribed, the recess 0 is brought into registry with the roller M andallows the lever M to rise under the influence of the spring M intoengagement with the collar P and, through the rod P swing the bar fromthe position shown in Fig. 2 to that shown by the full lines in F ig. 3.In this way the line is subjected to endwise spreading in both directions and any looseness or spaces that may exist between the matricseliminated. Moreover, all of the bands are driven up an equal distancethrough the line, which insures a uniform spacing of the words, and theline is left in perfect condition for the subsequent operations of facealignment and final justification, which are effected in the usual wayand as above described. If desired, the right end of the justificationbar may be lowered slightly before the opposite end is swung upwardly inorder to facilitate the adjust-- ment of the line toward the right,since the bar as it is lifted by the lever M would then be betteradapted to engage the spacebands successively from the left toward theright in bringing them to, a common level. In this event, a slight riseor swell in the low section 0* of the cam O is all that would berequired. As the advantages of this new construction and operation ofthe parts were fully pointed out in the preamble, it is not believed anyfurther elaboration here is necessary, altho it may again be pointed outthat the characteristic feature of the invention resides in thestraightening up of thejustification bar in the first stage ofustification as distinguished from the second stage.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is: i

1. In a slug casting machine, the combination of a composed lineofmatrics and expansible spacebands, a mold for casting a slug against theline,-a pair of jaws between which the line is confined in castingrelation to the mold, a justification bar movable in two stages toexpand the spacebands in effecting respectively a preliminary and finaljustification of the line, means for operating the bar, and means forcausing the bar in the first stage of its operation to engagethespacebands in an inclined position and then to be straightened out ineffecting the preliminary justification of the line.

2. In a slug casting machine, the combination of a composed line ofmatricsand expansible spacebands, a mold for casting a slug against theline, a pair of jaws between which the line is confined in castingrelation to the mold, a justification bar mounted so as to be capable ofassuming a position inclined to and parallel with the matrix line andmovable in two successive stages to expand the spacebands in effectingrespectively a preliminary and final justification of the line, andmeans for operating the bar so as to cause it to assume first one andthen the other of said positions during the first stage of its operationin effecting the preliminary justification of the line.

3. In a slug casting machine, the combina tion of a composed line ofmatrices and erpan sible spacebands, a mold for casting a slug againstthe line, a pair of jaws between which the line is confined in castingrelation to the mold, a justification bar pivotally mounted and movablein two stages to expand the spaccbands in effecting respectively a preliminary and final justification of the line, and means for operatingthe bar whereby the latter in the first stage of its operation is movedvertically while in an inclined position and then swung upwardly aboutits pivotal axis to a horizontal position in effecting the preliminaryjustification of the line.

et. In a slug casting machine, the combination of a composed line ofmatrices and expansible spacebands, a mold for casting a slug againstthe line, a pair of jaws between which the line is confined in castingrelation to the mold, a spring-actuated justification bar mounted so asto be capable of assuming a position inclined to and parallel with thematrix line and movable in two successive stages to expand thespacebands in effecting respectively a preliminary and finaljustification of the line, and a cam for controlling the operation ofthe bar under the action of its actuating spring, the said bar beingadapted during the first stage of its operation to assume first aninclined position and then a horizontal position in effecting thepreliminary justification of the line.

5. In a slug casting machine, the combination of a composed line ofmatrices and expansible spacebands, a mold for casting a slug againstthe line, a pair of jaws between which the line is confined in castingrelation to the mold, a spring-actuated-justification bar movable in twosuccessive stages to expand the spacebands in effecting respectively apreliminary and final justification of the line, a pair of slide rods towhich the bar is pivotally connected, and a pair of cams for controllingthe operation of the bar through said rods, one of the cams being formedwith a recess for causing the bar to swing during the first stage of itsoperation from an inclined position to a horizontal position ineffecting the preliminary justification of the line.

6. In a slug casting machine, the combination of a composed line ofmatrices and spacebands, a mold for casting a slug against the line, amovable aw and a relatively fixed opposing jaw between which the line isconfined in casting relation to the mold, a justification bar pivotallymounted so as to be capable of assuming a position inclined to andparallel with the matrix line and movable in two successive stages toexpand the spacebands in effecting respectively a preliminary and finaljustification of the line, means for causing the bar to assume first oneand then the other of said positions in effecting the preliminaryjustification of the line, and means operated in synchronism with thebar for locking the movable jaw during both justifications of the line.

7 In a slug casting machine, the combination of a composed line ofmatrices and spacebands, a mold for casting a slug against the line, amovable jaw and a relatively fixed opposing jaw between which the lineis confined in casting relation to the mold, a spring-actuatedjustification bar mounted so as to be capable of assuming a positioninclined to and parallel with the matrix line and movable in twosuccessive stages to expand the spacebands in effecting respectively apreliminary and final justification of the line, means for causing thebar to assume first one and then he sa s. re iner-r as .e n ati at sta-me ty iss sat a e ihsli asiii er d t-rv eaaq e e me wtat eist tor-1.0:;11g ttemaaatleaavun predetermined,

d" hifistificatiop otthel fie; aged Hf 0a .celitrolli'nathe .operationofthe bar and'wed a t-luza slaeg as ns mach 9. In a slug castingmachine, the combination of a composed line of matrices and expansiblespacebands, a mold for casting a slug against the line, a pair of jawsbetween which the line is confined in casting relation to the mold, a.justification bar pivotally mounted and movable in two stages to expandthe spacebands and effect respectively a preliminary and finaljustification of the line, a pair of springs for actuating said bar, and

means for controlling the operation of said springs whereby the barduring the first stage of Its operation is moved bodily upward in aninchned position under the influence of one spring and then swung fromthe inclined position to a horizontal position under the infiuence ofthe other spring in effecting the preliminary justification of the line.

10. In a. slug casting machine, the combination of a composed line ofmatrices and expansible spacebands, a mold for casting a slug againstthe line, a pair of jaws between which the line is confined in castingrelation to the mold, a justification bar movable in two stages toexpand the spacebands and effect respectively a preliminary and finaljustification of the line, a pair of springs for actuating said bar, andmeans for controlling the operation of said springs whereby the barduring the first stage of its operation is subj ected to the influenceof both springs in efifecting the preliminary justification of the 11.In or for a linotype machine, the justifying cam 0 formed with therelatively low portion 0 the intervening high portion 0, and theextended concentric portion'O", together with the depression 0 locatedin the low portion 0 as and for the purpose described.

12. The method of justifying a composed line of matrices and spacebandsin a linotype machine, which consists in subjecting the spacebands tothe expanding influence of a movable bar operating in. two successivestages, and causing said bar in the first or preliminary stage to engagethe spacebands while in an inclined position and then to move from itsinclined position to a h0riz0ntal position to even up the 'spacebands.

In testimony whereof, this specification has been duly signed by.

EDWIN W. PIER-SON.

